Time for diplomatic sanctions on #Syria

In a brave and important move that has been as yet barelyacknowledged in the press in this country, the LibyanTransitional National Council last week shut the Syrianembassy in Tripoli down, and recognised the Syrian NationalCouncil (which has recently unified virtually all the non-violentanti-Assad Syrian Opposition behind its banner) as thegovernment-in-waiting of Syria.*

This is an exciting development, an intelligent move. It ought tobe copied by Britain.

For one of the things that the Syrian protesters now most want(they mostly DON’T want foreign military intervention) isprecisely this: serious diplomatic sanctions against Syria, todelegitimise the Assad regime in the eyes of the world. We

should support the Syrian democracy-protesters; we can easily give them what they want.

Let’s close the Syrian embassy in Britain (unless it is preparedto declare independence from its capital, as some Libyan embassies didduring the uprising there), and recognise the SNC as the onlylegitimate government of Syria. Assad doesn’t govern Syria anymore. He merely tries (and mostly, due to the extraordinarybravery of the bulk of the people, fails) to terrorise it.

The great advantage of diplomatic sanctions moreover, besides being free, is that they won’t hurt the “person inthe street” in Syria. This is a win-win.

To sum up: Imposing such diplomatic sanctions on Syria is the least thatthis country can do, to back up the heroic Syrian democracy-protesters.